HYDERABAD - A special court here Monday sentenced former Satyam Computers chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and three others to six months imprisonment, in one of the cases related to Rs.14,000 crore accounting scandal. The special court for economic offences sentenced Ramalinga Raju, his brother and then managing director of the company, B. Rama Raju and two others to six months imprisonment in six of the seven cases...

filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The court also fined 11 individuals for amounts ranging from Rs.10,000 to Rs.2.66 crore. The highest fine was imposed on Krishna G. Palepu, who was directed to pay the amount in two months. "The accused were convicted and sentenced in six cases. The sentences will run concurrently," Special Prosecutor C. Raghu said.Ramalinga Raju, Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas and former director Ram Mynampati were sentenced to imprisonment and fined while other former directors were fined Rs.20,000 each in a complaint.The SFIO had filed complaints against the accused on various charges including fudging of balance sheets, deceiving shareholders and taking huge benefits and dividends as directors. The court struck down the case related to the company showing non-existing profit of Rs.1,715.75 crore.The special court is likely to deliver Dec 23 the much-awaited judgment in the case filed by the CBI in what is billed as the country's biggest accounting fraud which shocked the corporate world in 2009. The scam came to light Jan 7, 2009, when Ramalinga Raju confessed that the company's account books and profits were inflated over many years to the tune of several crores of rupees.The CBI put the loss to the shareholders at Rs.14,000 crore. The investigating agency also charged Raju of gaining Rs.2,500 crore by selling his family shares in Satyam. Raju, who was also charged with floating several front companies to buy land with the scam money, was arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police Jan 9, 2009.The CBI, which later took up the investigations, filed three chargesheets against Raju and other accused, charging them with cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery, falsification of accounts and breach of trust. Raju, who was released on bail, later retracted his confession and contended that all the charges against him were false. After the scam, Tech Mahindra took over Satyam Computers in a government-sponsored auction. Mahindra Satyam later merged with Tech Mahindra.